Dogs and people get along well in Mississippi, data shows

Rachel Blackwell with Coldwater Thunder, also known as Lulu, during the 118th National Championship for Bird Dogs earlier this year. Correctly interpreting the body language of dogs is key to a good relationship with them, experts say.(Photo: Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

It's common sense, really, but the message can't be repeated often enough to children for whom a cute puppy is a magnet.

"We talk about not touching dogs while they're eating, while they're sleeping, Not taking a toy away because the dog might think you're stealing and bite the hand," said Monica Mock, DeSoto County's Animal Services director. "Children are a prime target for bites."

Mock was talking about dog safety programs Animal Services teaches in local schools, and such educational efforts may be part of the reason that Mississippi's canine residents seem to have a pretty good relationship, statistically speaking, with their human co-residents.

New numbers released Monday by State Farm, one of the largest insurers in the state, show Mississippi ranks low, 36th among the 50 states, in the number of dog bite claims submitted. The company said it paid just under $800,000 in 2016 for 20 dog bite claims in Mississippi. California had the most claims, totaling $16.8 million for 422.

While children are a prime target, anyone can be a bite victim if they don't display responsible behavior around dogs, experts say. But Mock said getting the word out among all ages, and enforcing the county's animal ordinance, has helped reduce the number of reported bites in DeSoto County even though it's one of the state's more populous counties.

The county received 38 bites calls in 2016, down from 57 in 2015 and 72 in 2014.

"We're in the public quite a bit," said Mock, who noted the bite calls include both bites to people and to other animals. "And this is why we do it, to make sure people understand the ordinance and control their animals, and also to make sure they have the proper education when around animals."

DeSoto County's animal ordinance doesn't require dogs to be leashed on their owner's property, but they do have to be leashed or under the owner's control when off the owner's property.

Nationwide, State Farm reported an increase in the number of bite claims for last year. The company paid more than $121 million nationally on 3,660 bite claims, an increase of 15 percent. State Farm spokesman Roszell Gadson said the company doesn't exclude homeowner's or renter's insurance coverage because of specific breeds of dogs, however.

"Under the right circumstances, any dog might bite, regardless of breed," Gadson said.

Mississippi is one of about a dozen states with no clear dog bite statute, relying instead on the so-called "one-bite rule" that says the owner must have known the dog tended to bite or was negligent to be liable for damages the first time. Critics say laws need to be updated in those states.

But State Farm, like Mock, offers common sense suggestions to avoid dog bites: Be familiar with canine body language, give dogs their space and be humane.

"Dogs that are raised and trained humanely are more confident and less likely to bite than dogs that are trained using punitive methods or equipment designed to intimidate and cause pain," Gadson said.